The present invention relates to an ornamental display toy, and more particularly to such an ornamental display toy that holds a transparent spherical shell, a liquid in the transparent spherical shell, and an ornamental item in the liquid.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an ornamental display toy according to the prior art. This structure of ornamental display toy 10 comprises a hollow base 15, a transparent spherical shell 13 mounted on the hollow base 15, the transparent spherical shell 13 having a neck 14 embedded in the hollow base 15, a sealing cap 12 sealed to the neck 14 to close the mouth of the neck 14 and supported on the hollow base 15, a liquid 16 held in the transparent spherical shell 13, an ornamental device for example a toy house 11 mounted on the sealing cap 12 and dipped in the liquid 16 inside the transparent spherical shell 13, and light reflecting chips 17 received in the liquid 16 inside the transparent spherical shell 13. When the ornamental display toy 10 is vibrated or shaken gently with the hand and then put on a flat surface, the light reflecting chips 17 are forced to float in the liquid 16, and then to fall to the bottom side (the sealing cap 12) in the transparent spherical shell 13 like the falling of snowflakes. A musical box may be mounted in the hollow base 15. The musical box plays certain tunes in a mechanical manner. For example, a driving mechanism (clockwork) is driven by a handle to turn a pinned barrel (reproducer) over the metal reeds of a metal comb, causing certain tunes to be produced. The aforesaid structure of ornamental display toy still has drawbacks. When the liquid 16 freezes over, its volume expands, causing the sealing cap 12 to be deformed (see FIG. 3). If the sealing cap 12 is deformed, a gap 19 occurs between the sealing cap 12 and the neck 14 of the transparent spherical shell 13. When the liquid 16 returns from the solid state to the liquid state, it immediately leaks out through the gap 19, and at the same time outside air leaks in through the gap 19, causing bubbles to be produced in the remaining liquid 16 inside the transparent spherical shell 13. In order to prevent this problem, anti-freezing agent may be put in the liquid to stop the liquid from being changed into a solid state. However, because anti-freezing agent is expensive, the use of anti-freezing agent greatly increases the cost of the ornamental display toy. Further, because the liquid is treated through a chemical treatment or added with antiseptic, it causes a damage to the environment or human body when leaks out.